What are the best practices for designing a benefits newsletter?

1 Know your audience

Before you start writing, you need to understand who your readers are and what they want to know. Consider their demographics, preferences, and pain points. For example, do they prefer email or print? Do they have different needs based on their location, role, or life stage? Do they have any questions or concerns about their benefits? Use surveys, feedback, and analytics to gather insights and segment your audience accordingly.

2 Define your goals

Next, you need to establish what you want to achieve with your benefits newsletter. What are the key messages and actions you want to convey and encourage? How do you want to align your benefits communication with your organizational culture and values? How do you want to measure the impact and effectiveness of your newsletter? Set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) goals and use them to guide your content strategy.

3 Plan your content

Once you have your audience and goals in mind, you can start planning your content. Think about the topics, formats, and frequency of your newsletter. Choose topics that are timely, useful, and interesting for your readers. For example, you can cover policy changes, enrollment deadlines, wellness tips, employee testimonials, or industry trends. Use different formats to present your content, such as articles, infographics, videos, or quizzes. And decide how often you want to send your newsletter, whether it is monthly, quarterly, or seasonally.

4 Write and design

Now that you have your content plan, you can start writing and designing your benefits newsletter. To make your newsletter clear, concise, and attractive, use a catchy subject line and headline to grab attention. Use a friendly and professional tone that reflects your brand voice and personality, and opt for simple language that avoids jargon and acronyms. Additionally, break up the text by using bullet points, headings, and subheadings to highlight key points. Include images, colors, and fonts that are consistent with your brand identity and style guide. Lastly, add call-to-action buttons or links that invite readers to take action such as enrolling or learning more. Don't forget to use white space and margins to create a balanced and readable layout.

5 Test and optimize

Before you hit send, you need to test and optimize your benefits newsletter. Check for spelling, grammar, and factual errors. Test how your newsletter looks and functions on different devices and browsers. Ask for feedback from a sample of your audience or colleagues. Track and analyze the performance of your newsletter, such as open rates, click-through rates, and engagement rates. Use the data and feedback to identify what works and what doesn't, and make adjustments accordingly.

A benefits newsletter can be a powerful tool to communicate and enhance your employee value proposition. By following these best practices, you can design a benefits newsletter that is informative, engaging, and effective.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?